Destiny tips and tricks – A guide to help get you started

Helping you get the most of out Destiny at the start

Destiny is finally here and you can buy it now on a number of platforms, including the Xbox One and PS4 – the latter of which you get some exclusive content with. If you’ve only just started sinking in your teeth into the game, we’ve picked up some handy tips along the way that will help you get started in the mammoth adventure that is Destiny.

Don’t be put off by the fact that a huge amount of players will have already reached level 20 or beyond. Destiny is accessible for everyone, and you’ll benefit from having some higher level players in your Fire Team as you’re levelling up.

We’ve also been given some special advice from Bungie itself for things to watch out for in The Crucible.

2. You can’t sell items in the store

Instead you’ll need to disassemble them in your inventory, or store them in the Tower Vault to share with your other characters. When you disassemble them, you’ll get some Glimmer currency and some other valuable materials, so don’t worry about scrapping the lower level weapons and items you no longer need.

3. Each player can have up to three Guardians

Although you might want to focus on a single Guardian to begin with, you can actually have up to three active Guardians at any one time. It’s a good idea to train them up as you progress through the game, just in case you know you’re heading into a Strike that would be better tackled by a different Guardian to your main character for example. Having multiple characters also means that you can share all the weapons, armour and other items you collect between them, rather than having to scrap valuable items when your vault is full.

4. There are 41 Trophies/Achievements to be had

Destiny has 4 confirmed Trophies and Achievements to be obtained. Some of these will require a lot of dedication or specific weapons. For example, you won’t want to try and get the Bane of the Emperor achievement until you’ve got the Superior Sniper Rifle, as it requires you to take out 25 Cabal with precision shots in a single mission without dying.

5. Take time crafting your character

Although

it may sound fairly obvious, take some real time (if you haven’t

already for the alpha), to create your character. This will really

affect how you play Destiny and your combat style too.

Firstly,

you’ll have to choose from one of three classes, Hunter, Warlock and

Titan, which will provide the basis for your character’s abilities.

Destiny: HunterThe

Hunters are basically the Destiny equivalent of a thief or rogue. They

specialise in stealth attacks and long range weapons, but are also

pretty handy with a blade.

As a Hunter you’ll have to keep

moving to stay out of the line of fire, since you recover slowly from

blows and shots and die really quickly if you don’t hoof it away from

where the action is most intense.

Destiny: TitanThe

Titans are specialists in heavy weaponry along with light machine guns,

and thanks to their 80 per cent armour ratio, they’re the strongest too.

Playing as a Titan, you’ll won’t be moving as fast as the other

two classes, but you’ll be able to take quite a bit of damage while you

dish out some serious short-range attacks.

Destiny: WarlockFinally,

there’s the Warlock, one of the more interesting classes, acting as the

mage-type for Destiny. They are only lightly armoured, but recover

health much more quickly than the other two.

If you choose the

Warlock class, you will have to focus on using their powers from behind

cover, learning how the different magical abilities affect foes.

Beyond

these three classes, there is a whole skill tree to explore as you

level up. You can only reach level 8 in the beta, but you’ll see a few

strands of the tree open up to you as you progress through it

nonetheless.

We had some time with all three classes and the play

style of each class, even at the lowest levels, is very distinct, so

choose wisely.

6. It’s better with friends

While

playing the storyline campaign on your own is totally immersive, with a

The Titan’s supercharge ability is Fist of Havoc, which lets you smash

the ground and fry any surrounding enemies in a whirlpool of Solar

Light.

If you’re looking for a bit of Hadouken action, the

Warlock’s supercharge move is the Nova Bomb, which hurls an explosive

bolt of Solar Light at the enemy, vaporising any that get trapped in its

path.

8. Don’t forget your secondary weapons

Although

your main weapons are strong, over-reliance on them could see you miss

out on some of the most useful secondary weapons.

As with other

titles, you’ll find you can throw grenades by pressing the L1 button

(PS4). You only get one at a time, but they’re limitless if you wait for

them to respawn and are extremely useful for taking out, or at least

dealing some heavy damage to, a pocket of enemies.

Grenades are particularly useful when starting to tackle heavier enemies with

shields, like the Captains, as the explosions can make a big dent in

their glowing protection barriers.

There’s also the melee attacks, which

again range in type according to your class, but they can be very useful

for hordes of enemies, especially the en-masse attacking Thralls.

9. Explore each map for hidden goodies

A

great part of the beta is the potential for exploration. There are

useful hidden treasure chests dotted around the maps, but sometimes

these are protected by high level ogres or knights, so remember to take a

few pals with you. Of course, then you’ll have to fight over who gets

the spoils.

But there’s another resource you’ll want to keep an

eye out for in Destiny and that’s Spin Metal. These odd coral-like

metallic plants can be collected throughout the game and then traded in

for upgraded kit or reputation points to spend in The Tower.

10. The Tower is a great resource

The

Tower is a great place to do a bit of relaxing, buy some new weaponry,

armour and other gear or just to take a load off. Literally.

You

can use the Tower Vaults to drop off any unwanted weapons or other

items, which can then be passed to any other character in the game. It’s

a quick and easy way, a la Mass Effect, to make sure your team is

kitted out to the best of their abilities.

There are also bounty

missions and other side quests to be picked up in The Tower, so make

sure you take a break from mowing down enemies and head back there every

once in a while.

11. Make use of sniper rifles

Although you may not feel a sniper rifle is entirely appropriate for your class, you might want to keep one in your arsenal, just because of its amazing damage dealing capabilities. From whatever range you are from your enemy, sniper rifles will deal around 3 to 5 times more damage than any other weapon – especially a head shot.

Of course, sniper ammo is limited so you’ll only be about to shoot around 15 bullets before your ammo is depleted. However, a boss should be down by then if you’re hitting him in the head. Snipers are basically a godsend against Knights and other such enemies.

12. Get uncommon gear on demand

If you’re looking for some uncommon gear, make sure to repeatedly hit the Devil’s Lair Strike Mission. Every time you complete it you get rewarded with a piece or two of uncommon gear that gives you additional benefits over the average loot.

13. Changing your weapon loadout will cost you

Although Destiny will let you change out your weapon load at any time – even in the midst of a Crucible match – the privilege does cost you all your Heavy and Special ammo.

Ammo for these weapon types is rare, but you’ll notice there are drops during competitive multiplayer matches and you can pick it up from downed enemies in little purple ammo boxes.

Destiny Crucible Tips and Tricks

We’ve been given some fantastic advice for playing The Crucible by Destiny Game Designer Lars Bakken, which should help you survive a little longer and keep that kill to death ratio in the black.

Here’s 5 things to remember in The Crucible:

1. Level Advantages are Disabled in Standard Crucible Matches

“In the standard Control playlist, we normalize incoming and outgoing damage to keep players on a level playing field”, explains Bakken.

Don’t fret that you’ll be out-matched by your rivals either, as “people bring in all their own gear, and we Matchmake players based on Skill.”

2.

Control is a hybrid of Team Deathmatch and Objective Modes

Of course, the aim of the Control matches in the Crucible is to hold on to as many bases as possible for as long as you can. You get 10 minutes per match, so you either wait until the timer runs out or it’s the first team to reach 20,000 points that wins.

“Every action players do above the standard kill will give them more points. Getting kills with a headshot, melee, grenade, Super, Heavy weapons, or vehicle will all add additional points on top of each kill,” said Bakken. “Most importantly, for each Control Point your team holds, everyone on that team gets a bonus modifier on every kill.”

That last one comes in really handy too, as we’ve observed when the points are getting really tight in the closing minutes of the match.

3. Keep watching the Tracker in the upper left corner

For your own team, friendlies appear as blue dots, but your own Fire Team will show up as green dots instead of blue.

But, the tracker’s really great for helping you spot incoming enemies.

“Enemies always show up on the Tracker, so it has nothing to do with movement,” reminded Bakken. “If they are crouched, they will ping less frequently, but still show up.”

“The Tracker is broken up into segments, and we generally show where the enemies are without revealing the exact position.”

“When the centre piece stars flashign that means an enemy is within 6 metres, and we call that the panic zone.”

4. Ammo crates are useful, but can be traps

You’ll always spawn with primary ammo, but it’s the special and heavy ammo that you’ll need to scout out in the maps. It can be found in ammo crates strewn around the maps, but watch out because these can be used against you.

“Ammo Crates can be shared. When a teammate activates a crate, it will also create ammo for any nearby teammates. This is true of both Special (Green) and also Heavy (Purple). It’s a great idea to gather teammates around a Heavy Ammo Crate so everyone gets ammo, but beware that some enemies will try to bait you with this.”

You’ll be given 10 second warnings before ammo drops too, so you can plan your tactics for the good or bad.